1. Related Disclosures
This application is derived from U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 07/823,135 filed on Jan. 21, 1992 and incorporates that work by reference.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the manufacture of table games and, more particularly, to the physical realization of a table game which simulates the playing conditions of ice hockey. Many incidents of the hereinafter disclosed improvements are emulative in nature and such nuances will be discussed as they are revealed.
3. Discussion of Relevant Art
The reader is referred to my original disclosure of the present invention, U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 823,135 wherein I detail the broader aspects of my invention. A relevant piece of art is U.S. Pat. No. 2,048,944 issued to D.H. Munro et al. on Jul. 28, 1936. Therein, Munro et al. disclose a unit player, of their table game, that consists of a wire rod bent so as to emulate a striking arm (or stick) of a player and which is bent so as to form, beneath the table, a lever arm having a hook at the end thereof. The purpose of the hook is to tie a control wire rod thereto, for the purposes of actuating or pivoting the device. In Canada, Pat. No. 456,453, issued Feb. 8, 1949, D.H. Munro teaches a table or board game similar to that of '944. Employing a multi-strand wire rod, he actuates the under-table lever arms of the various players causing them to pivot simultaneously on their journaling posts. As in '944, the players, i.e. the discrete pivoting units, are merely wire rods bent to effect a sweeping, striking arm. In both cases, the striking arm is cantilevered straight out from the journaled vertical post or axis of the unit. In both of the disclosures, the fundamental connection between the actuating lever, which is manipulated by the game operator, is wire rod tied to the discrete actuating lever ends which are then, in some cases, spring-biased to the table.
The Canada Patent, No. 632,798, issued to Kobayashi in 1961 discloses a board type hockey game consisting of a rectangular rink which is composed of a floor and surrounding wall with two teams of discrete rod-activated players that move in essentially downfield-upfield directions. Kobayashi employs separately operated goalie positions in which the playing unit consists of a singular bracket having a very shallow U-shape. Each player in this game, has a stick emulating portion of the player piece, including a cut out portion which imitates the natural space occurring between a true hockey player's stick and (skated) feet. Further, the rod actuators for moving the individual players in a general upfield-downfield motion comprise journaled shafts which actuate the player pieces to effect individual slapping or pivoting motions. The main distinction between the individual player unit activation of Kobayashi and that of Munro et al. is that the Kobayashi device requires a plurality of activator rods to control motions of the plurality of player units. This can be somewhat disadvantageous and, because of the myriad slots in the floor of the game, requires the use of a puck shaped playing device rather than a ball. Thus, the Munro et al. game is a much faster paced game. The distinct disadvantage in the Munro game, as well as others, is the plurality of wire or cord segments necessitated for the simultaneous actuation of player units by a single operating handle or lever.
Other relevant disclosures include patents issued to Cooper, U.S. Ser. No. 3,815,911 (1974) and Henderson, U.S. Ser. No. 2,237,486 (1941). Cooper employs triangularly shaped wall extensions which are meant to serve as additional obstacles to the object of play, which is a spinning top. These extensions, therefore, do not deflect a top with any calculated effect, but merely act as would any obstacle in the path of such a device. The patent issued to Henderson, on the other hand, discloses a wall incident that can be generally described as arcuate, changing to planar, the planar portion being orthogonal or perpendicular to a straight wall portion thereof. The arcuate portion of the aforementioned device is provided so that a sweeping arm or paddle may pass through the device's arc unobstructed and cooperatively therewith propel a ball or playing piece through the arcuate portion and away from the proximate goal. Thus, the obstacle or deflection modalities of both the Cooper and Henderson disclosures are precisely what they are seen to be, merely obstacles or devices which cooperate with another fixed part of the game (Henderson) in order to provide some game stratagem which appears to frustrate, rather than aid, scoring by an opposing (rather than a defending) player.
Before proceeding with a detailed description of the invention, I would like to define certain terms that will be employed throughout the remaining disclosure. The term "player" is used to define the game element that emulates a human hockey player. As to the human enthusiasts who play my slapball hockey game, they shall be referred to as "operators". An "emulator" or "emulation device" is a game device or unit that is designed to emulate a true hockey player or simulate, to some degree, some aspect of real hockey play. The term "board" refers to the playing surface and may be used interchangeably with "rink"; it being understood that, in lieu of "board", "table" may also be used. "Arcuate" shall mean any physical device or parameter that is curvate, curvilinear or sinuous. When I refer to devices or incidents of my game which have shapes in the configuration of a phonetic character, I mean of the general shape of a "W", "U" etc. and will use often therewith an adjective such as "shallow", "deep" etc. Specific motivative devices, such as a coil spring, may be referred to merely as "spring biasing"; the reader is given notice that any reasonable substitute for what is shown in the game, the figures or the claims may be inferred, such as a substitution of an elastomeric band for a coil spring. Finally, the term "defending" goal, etc. refers to a proximate location, where the ball is currently in play.